So many rules and myths surround resumes that it’s a wonder anyone knows how to write a resume properly anymore. Some say that a resume should only be one page because most potential employers won’t want to be bothered with reading two or three pages. Others say a resume needs a specific format. A good resume is a person’s front line to opening communications between herself and a future employer. She needs to build a resume that reflects her personality while at the same time, present the required information as clearly and concisely as possible.

A good resume needs to stand out among hundreds of other applicants. Each of the applicants has the same thing in mind—to secure the job and beat the competition. The employer might remember the first resume on the stack, if only because he is not yet bleary-eyed from reading through dozens of other resumes. The first resume isn’t always remembered by the time the bottom of the pile of applicants is reached, though. Learning how to write a resume that makes an employer perk up and take notice is an art, but the effort is well worth it.

Why Have A Resume?

The whole purpose of a good resume is to land an interview. If the job seeker has distributed dozens of resumes and still hasn’t received one phone call for an interview, chances are the resume needs some work.

There are other reasons to build a resume. Here are a few:

- A resume can serve as a sample of your skills. Writers and artists have portfolios of their best work, but most other professionals don’t.

A well written, carefully organized resume is the best way to showcase a person’s professional standards.

- A good resume can work as an extension of a business card. Sometimes job-hunting entails personal visits to companies on the off chance they might be hiring.Leaving a resume with a job application shows a potential employer the applicant’s ability to be prepared and well organized.

- A resume can effectively reinforce a person’s inner strength. Once an individual sees on paper how much she has accomplished, confidence levels rise. Beginning the process of building a resume is making the commitment to finding a job. It acts as a personal contract and serves as a source of inspiration.

How Not to Write a Resume

A resume is not meant to be a comprehensive history of every minor job a person might have had in a lifetime. While job history is important, remember to include only the bits of information relative to the current situation. An employer doesn't want to see every summer job the applicant had since she was a teenager. Nor should it be a chore to write a resume. Most people build a resume and treat it as an obligation rather than a useful tool in finding a job. That tone has a way of creeping in between the lines. Approach the task of writing the resume with enthusiasm and it will show through.

Target the Right Market

In order to write a good resume, target a specific job. If the job is for an executive administrative assistant but the individual's job experience listed on the resume reflects no skills at all in the secretarial field, a potential employer won’t bother calling that applicant.

Have several different resumes for different situations. A graphic artist or a writer might have one resume for the dream job in her field, and at the same time have another one for the job that simply pays the bills until the dream job becomes reality. Or, if a person is unsure which field she might want to go into, several different resumes might get sent out to target a variety of jobs.

The most important thing to remember is to write a resume specific to a certain job, no matter what that job is. Anything less will only perpetuate the cycle of a job that doesn’t fit.

Role Reversal

One of the best things a person can do is to try to get into the mind of the future employer. Consider what the employer might really want. Rather than listing a history of experience, include information that would appeal to that particular market.

Calling an employer can help, too. Instead of guessing, find out straight from the source what a particular company is looking for. Knowing how to write a resume while keeping in mind what the employer perceives to be the perfect applicant can go a long way in getting a job application noticed. Be sure to keep information such as accomplishments, certifications, and awards work related. Listing hobbies is nice, but if those hobbies aren’t relevant to the job, they’re just filler.

Career Change

Trying to build a resume while transitioning from one career to another is challenging but not impossible. All it will take is a little extra creativity. The person writing this type of resume will have to work harder to make her resume stand out, since she probably won’t have a lot of experience in the field to list.

Before switching careers, take a couple of courses and get some kind of certification to show knowledge in the chosen field and the drive and desire to learn more.

More Than a List

A good resume is more than a list of work history. It should include an objective and/or a summary, a brief history of education, and a section for skills and achievements.

Objective/Summary: The objective is the opening paragraph that grabs the reader and tells her why the applicant is perfect for her job. An objective should narrow down the target audience by specifically stating what direction the applicant wishes to take with her career. Uncertainty and lack of confidence have no place in the objective.

Both the objective and the summary consist of a few sentences that describe the chosen profession, followed by a statement or two regarding specialization or expertise in the field. Finally, include a sentence describing personal goals as they relate to the career.

Education: A summary of education should follow the objective. There is no need to list every piece of education since pre-school. Start at the college level, listing any degrees or awards achieved during that time but only if they are relevant to the job. If education consists of trade schools or special training, include those along with any certifications and other courses.

Skills and Achievements: In this section, go into more detail regarding background. Be sure to list any major accomplishments that may have occurred at the last job or special projects that might be in the works. Remember to keep it all relative to the job. This is more than a “list”, too.

Choose the most important aspects of the resume and expand on them.

There are also a many types of resumes. Here is a list of the most popular:

Chronological: This type of resume is the one taught to most young adults before they venture out into the working world. This structure works well when trying to build a resume for the same field as the previous job. A good resume written chronologically will appeal to an older employer, because this kind of resume is the most traditional. The disadvantage to the chronological resume is that it is not designed for the person who wants to change careers or for the person who has more hands-on experience than job experience.

Functional: A functional resume deals only with highlighting specific skills. Rather than listing job descriptions, the applicant gets right to the heart of the matter and tells the reader what the reader wants to know. This type of resume is well suited for the person going through a change of career that hasn’t yet built up a background of work history in the newly chosen field. Homemakers, newly discharged military personnel and students often use the functional resume to their benefit. The drawback to the functional resume is that it might not appeal to more traditional employers who want to see what jobs the applicant may have had in the past.

Combined: By combining aspects of the chronological resume and the functional resume, the applicant can take the best of both worlds and avoid some of the disadvantages of each style. The only problem with the combined resume is that it tends to be longer than the other two.

Of course, these are only a few tips on how to write a resume. A good resume takes time and thought, and there are many ways it can be written. The best approach is to be honest and sincere. Don’t try to make yourself appear something you’re not, because you might find that you’ve landed a job with more responsibility than you can handle. Write a resume to reflect the desired job and build a resume that is a clear picture of what you want. See it, put it on paper, and make it happen.

Is It Time for a New Job?

You love your coworkers but hate the huge workload. The commute is crazy but the pay is great. So what makes a job a keeper? If you've been contemplating switching jobs, you should be confident in your decision, not conflicted. But how do you know if it's best to send off that letter of resignation or stick it out? Take this quiz to find out if it's truly time for a new job.